The Dallas daily herald. [volume] (Dallas, Tex.) 1873-1887, 1887-02-04


length surmised the cause of my chang.
ed behavior. and wrung the truth from
me. She understood the terrors of the
calamity that had fallen upon me as
fully as did. There was nothing tc
be done but face the situation as brave
ly as we could. II would be full year
before the disease began to man.
fest itself We determined that we
would spend that year as happily as we
could in each others company. At the
first manifestation OF the disease ]
would kill myself. The idea of living
to watch my own decay was something
not to be thought OF for moment. We
carefully debated all means of death,
and this at last seemed best to me: !
would take small boat and row out
into the harbor. Then | would sit on
the edge of the gunwale, shoot myself
through the head and fall overheard.
You probably think it strange l did
not prefer morphine, or some other
less violent means of death. There
was no method of ending human eXs-
tence that did not carefully canvass,
and. of them all, | chose that which ]
have described, because it was sure,
speedy and painless.
II think lived ten years in the next
twelve months. The condemned muir.
dcrer usually faces death but few
weeks, and to the last cherishes hope
of n pardon. or u reprieve. or new
trial. looked the awful certainty OF
death in the face for n year. and knew
there was no chance of a repieve from
my sentence. As the year rolled
around nearly abandoned my pratice
and devoted myself to the society of ms
family and to watching for the first
symptoms of the disease. On the day
when it was Just year from my OK
posure l babe the family good-by anc
retired to my room to wait for the ex
pected symptoms. They didn't come
waited patiently, day after day, with
out daring to hope, until finally the
lint of time had been exhausted
When knew there was no longer any
chance that ! had caught the disease
the JOY came as near upsetting my
mind as the terror had formerly. ]
don't know how | cscaped-it was
little less than miracle; but it was
miracle that made family of people
wild with JOY for q long time.
VERY sad things often occur in the
ravagcs of leprosy. | remember par
ticularly the case of Il young and very
pretty native woman who was the belle
of her own circle. Many of the ma
tives are strikingly handsome, but this
girl was the most beautiful | have ever
seen among them. She was engaged
to be married to a young man OF her
own race, who was young and prom
ising merchant. The two were entire
ly devoted to each other, and their af-
lection was matter of common and
gratiied comment among their friends.
The young man was in the habit OF
calling upon his aliianced nearly every
evening. One night he failed to ap.
pear as usual, and the next morning
the young woman sought him at his
place of bisiness to learn why. She
didn't find him. but rs she was return
ing home she met the daily gang o.
new victims of the plague being march
ed down to the wharf to go TO the
island. In the front rank she recog
nized her lover. Without a moments
hesitation she sprang from her mothers
grasp. threw her arms about her lover''
neck and, clinging to his lips, sucked
his blood. In few months she fol
lowed him To the island, where the
they lived in each others arms until
the disease had reached that stage
where sight and feeling are destroyed.
Such things are common in that plague
ridden land. There is no hope for the
natives that ! can see. Nothing can
stamp out leprosy. and so nothing can
save the people. The island can. how
ever, be saved from the damnation of a
European power, and that duty lies at
the door of this country. The king is
nothing more than an old fat, wine
drinking. poker-playing incompetent.
When he dies Hawaiian royalty will
die with him, and there are few roy al
ties now in the business that can be
hotter shared. "-Neic York Mad and